Judgement Day for Dumbledore
by rdg2000
Summary: Just how much does Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore have to account for due to his actions?  What would be like to be standing on the 'other side' as Professor Dumbledore stepped off in to the next great adventure.


**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Authors Notes**:

Repost on 26-Sep-2010. I'm hoping this is the version that was spell checked with MS Word. The spell check with OpenOffice leaves a great deal to be desired. rdgale

While reading some other stories (latest being 'Champions' by Thor's Shadow – A HP/FD if you want to check it out). I was impressed by how much Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had to account for due to his actions and wondered what it would be like to be standing on the 'other side' as Professor Dumbledore stepped off in to the next great adventure.

This **will not** be a politically correct story. If that bothers you, don't read it.

This will be a 'short' one-chapter story as to what it 'might' be like.

Is this how I think the 'judgment' will be? No. This story is meant just for the entertainment and enjoyment of the people who read it.

Remember, Harry Potter and his 'universe' is fiction. It can be used to derive entertainment and pleasure, but it is no substitute for the real world and real life.

If you read this story, read it for your own enjoyment, not for some deeper meaning of life.

Again, Thank you for your time and support.

rdg2000

**General References**:

**General Info**: http :/ www (dot) hp-lexicon (dot) org / index-2 (dot) html

http :/ www(dot)gfhandel(dot)org / messiahlibretto(dot)htm

http :/ en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org /

**Judgment Day for Dumbledore**

**By rdg2000**

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was dying.

He still cursed himself for being so clumsy when he went to collect the horcrux from the Gaunt 'estate'. He should have realized that Tom would have a seventh curse protecting the ring. After all, seven is the strongest Arithmancy number.

Since that time it took all his strength to keep the decaying curse from consuming more than just his right arm. But now, with the affects of the poison he drank while trying to get the fake horcrux from the cave was taking it's toll on him... he could feel it.

He had known that it was only a matter of time before the decaying curse ravaged his body, but now, instead of a few weeks, he was down to a few hours – if not minutes.

He was not afraid to die. After all, as his friend and mentor had told him, "... to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure..."

He did take a certain amount of solace in the fact that he had worked out with Severus that if it became necessary for him to keep his cover with Voldemort, or to save young Draco's from a fate worse than death, that he (Severus) would end his (Dumbledore's) life. Besides, what were a few hours now? It would also save him from enduring the pain and torment of suffering of the combined effects of the curse and the poison Yes, in the grand scheme of things, this was the better way to go. He was not looking forward to feeling his body's cells break apart one by one until he could no longer hold death off.

But, there was a down-side to this situation.

He would not be able to see young Mr. Potter reach if true potential. It was still too early in the game to tell young Harry everything that was going on. This would, unfortunately cause many hardships for the young man, but Albus was confident that young Mr. Potter would once again raise to meet the task.

He couldn't tell Harry about his deal with Severus, or that fact that he was indeed dying. The young man would just think that it was all his fault anyway. No, it was better this way. This way Harry may go into a depressed stupor for a little while, but eventually he would use his death as a catalyst in finishing the work of destroying the monster that was Voldemort.

Arriving at the Astronomy tower from Hogsmead after seeing the dark mark floating over the castle, Dumbledore was getting desperate. The curse had completely destroyed his right arm and was moving on to the trunk of his body. The poison was still circulating through his system, slowly shutting down his organs. He had to act quickly and hope that Severus would do his part sooner than later.

After placing a full body bind on Harry and hiding him under his father's clock, Dumbledore looked up just in time to see young Mr. Malfoy come through the door holding a shaky wand in his hand.

Dumbledore knew Draco could not finish the task given to him by the Dark Lord, and so it would fall on his friend Severus to complete the task. As Severus appeared behind young Draco, Dumbledore almost felt relieved, but he had to hurry. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out with the combined affects of the poison and the curse.

"Please Severus, please!" He begged.

The irony was not lost on him how his pleading to Severus would appear to the others – especially to Harry.

"Please Severus, I beg you, please!"

After a protracted pause, the potions master curled his lip as he said, "_Avada Kedavra"_!

Dumbledore didn't notice the expression on his 'old friends' face. He was focused on the green curse that was heading for him and the sure relief it would give to him over his current pain.

As the curse hit the aging Headmaster, he was surprised and relieved that:

He still existed. That there was in fact something after death. That he didn't just 'blink' out of existence and

How little pain there really was.

He watched in fascination as his body looked as if someone had cut the strings to a marionette doll, as it fell off the edge of the tower to the hard ground below.

He was barely aware of the primal scream young Harry let out as the affects of the full body bind were removed upon his 'death' and the wave of raw magic that forced the Death-eaters from the castle. He would miss seeing the young man grow up – but now he had another adventure to be off to.

Since he did not feel that he had any unfinished business to attend to, he immediately focused on the force that, as William Wordsworth said was bringing him to "... God, who is our home:" (Intimations of Immortality, 1802, 1804).

He felt himself leaving this plain of existence and entering into a dark, cold waste land. He could tell that he was moving, but he didn't know in what direction.

After an indeterminate period of time, Dumbledore felt himself 'step out' of the darkness into a place of indescribable beauty. As he looked around he saw his Mother, Kendra, and his Father, Percival there to meet him. They hugged him lovingly and told him how glad they were to see him again. That they had missed him a great deal.

Albus looked around to see if he could find his younger sister, Ariana, but she was no where to be found.

"She still upset with you, Aberforth, and Gellert for getting in that argument that killed her." His mother told her.

"Can you tell me who's curse it was that killed her mother? I must know!" Albus plead.

"Does it really matter now Albus?" came her reply. "Between her unstable magic, and her unstable mind, the stress of the dual its self would have been enough to kill her anyway. But if you must know, it was Gellert. He intentionally sent the killing curse at her knowing how much her death would hurt you and Aberforth. But she was also hit with a powerful blasting curse at almost the same time. If the first curse would have missed her, the second curse would have been just as fatal to her."

"That was your curse Albus. You sent the blasting curse towards Gellert and Ariana stepped in front of it thinking that she could get the two of you to stop if you saw she was in harms way."

Albus fell to his knees feeling a wound open that had been closed for many years.

After several minutes, he was able to get himself back under control. He couldn't believe how fresh the pain felt at the thought of is sister's death. He felt the strong arms of his father reach down and squease he shoulder after a few moments.

"Come on Albus, it's time for your judgment, your assessment." His father said.

"What's that father?" Albus asked as if a little child.

"We all must make an accounting as to how we used our time and talents during our mortal probation Albus."

"Who will be my judge father? Will he be fair?"

"There is only one who can judge the heart and motives of all humankind Albus. You will know that once you see him. Come now, He is waiting."

Albus was lead to the most beautiful building he had ever seen. He was told by his parents to go in, that they would be waiting for him when he was finished.

Entering the building, Albus found no one else around, but instinctively knew where he was to go and that he should be patient, his judge would be with him shortly.

During this period of time Albus took the opportunity to think about his life and what he had done with it. He was rather amazed how his whole life seemed to 'flash' before him in an instance, or how clearly he could remember each and every thing he had ever thought, or said, or did – or didn't do (like save Madame Bone when he knew Voldemort was going after her).

His heart burst with sorrow as he thought of how he had taken advantage of those who he should have care for the most. His sister, his brother, the friends of his childhood, the Ministry... and the students and staff of Hogwarts.

He thought about everything he had done for the wizarding world – the people he helped, and the people he took advantage of because of their trust in him ... like the Weasley family. There was no reason they should have been so destitute, had he note taken advantage of Arthur's kind and trusting nature. And there were many, many more than just the one.

All during this time, he was not aware that he had not even thought about the two people he harmed the most, Tom Riddle, and Harry Potter.

There was not concept or feeling of the passing of time here so Albus had plenty of opportunity to review his actions. Whenever he thought of himself doing something good, and not for a selfish reason, the joy he felt was remarkable. Contrarily, when he thought about those selfish acts, the remorse and regret he felt was equally overwhelming. He couldn't help but cry within his soul to a higher power that he could receive some measure of forgiveness for those actions.

While reviewing the actions of his life for the untold hundredth time, a door open and his Judge walked into the room.

Albus looked up from his chair and saw who had entered the room. When he saw who it was, he immediately fell on his knees and cried out, "My Lord and my God!" He buried his face in his hands not feeling worthy to be in the same room as this divine personage.

He was shocked when a kind, strong hand reached down and pulled him up into a loving embrace.

The love and kindness he felt radiating off his Lord was almost completely overwhelming. He knew that this love was unconditional. That regardless what he had done, he was love as an individual and son of God.

"Welcome home Albus. It's been a long time in coming. Come, let us sit together, there is still much we need to talk about."

Albus returned to his seat, and his Judge sat close enough to him so that he could still keep one arm on his shoulder.

"You have truly felt remorse and a desire to receive forgiveness for many of your past transgression, and for those, my grace is sufficient to pay the price for those, however there are still others where the demands of justice must be met."

Albus became aware of a device on the table that he was very familiar with... a pensive.

"This is not any pensive Albus, this pensive contains the life and experiences of the two people you let down the most in life. Tom Marvolo Riddle, and Harry James Potter. Here you will not only be able to see their lives as they lived them, but you will feel their pain, heartache and mental anguish that was a direct result of your actions or in many cases, your inaction or interference.

For the first time since coming to his place, Albus felt true fear. The very thought of either one of those two boys – no, those two young men, was enough to bring him to his knees. The thought of failing _both_ of them was overwhelming.

He plead with the Judge that he would not show him how he had failed those two, but to no avail. "You must view and experience this so you can grasp how completely you failed these two."

The next thing Albus knew, he was in the pensive. He didn't even remember entering it.

As the images in the pensive started, his senses were overwhelmed. As before it seemed as if he saw everything in an instance, but with perfect clarity. From the moment he met each of the young men, through his last interactions with each of them, he saw and felt the pains they had to suffer.

For Tom, he witnessed, and felt, every betting, every taunt, every rape, he had to endure since entering the wizarding world. Albus felt the frustration Tom felt when, at the end of each year, he would ask if there were any way for him to go anywhere instead of the orphanage – just to have his 'favorite' teacher tell him that it wasn't possible for him to go anywhere else. And to say it with that damn twinkle in his eyes was beyond madding!

Albus witnessed and felt how after years of mistreatment Tom slow grew darker, and darker, until, after one more rejection from Dumbledore, his mind and spirit snapped, and his determination to become the next dark lord was made firm.

Albus was surprised to feel how almost all of Tom's hatred was focused on him. Yes, Tom did blame his muggle father for abandoning his mother – but it was the great Albus Dumbledore that had left him in an unloving, uncaring environment with no form of support during those three months each year while in school where he could talk to, or ask an adult witch or wizard how he was to handle his new and budding powers.

Every dark curse he learned, every dark ritual he went though, Albus could feel the hate Tom had for him grow. Like a rebellious teen left to run wild, striking against authority at every turn. And who did Tom view as the ultimate authority? Albus Dumbledore.

He witnessed Tom's first kill – Myrtle – with the Basilisk. The feeling of euphoria at time of the kill, the absolute feeling of power he had over another persons life, and then the utter sickness in his heart that enabled him to tear his soul in half to make his first horcrux. He saw how angry Tom was at the time, and how he blamed him for the actions he had taken.

He viewed and felt every perverse act and deed that Tom did during his time in the pensive. Every person he tortured or killed, every person he raped, every person he enslaved by marking them.

He was shocked to see how far Tom had gone in striking out against him, and at the end, even Albus came to hate that twinkle in his own eyes.

Albus felt rather than saw that while Tom would have much to account for when he did when he get here, much of this could have been avoided had he just taken the time to care, truly care, for this young man while he was still growing up.

An instance later, Albus found himself looking at a young Harry Potter as he was being placed on the front stoup of Petunia and Vernon Dursley.

He grimaced as he saw Vernon take the small baby basket and throw it into the cupboard under the stairs.

He was shocked to see and feel how little Harry felt the loss of his parents and how much pain he felt as he hit the wall of the small room with his little hand. The days that Petunia would go without feeding or caring for Harry in anyway. Albus marveled that the infant could still function and live under these conditions. More than one time Albus felt that he could not go on any more. It pained him to know that this is exactly how little Harry felt at the time, when his (Harry's) magic would literally step in to preserve him.

He was amazed at Harry capacity for love and forgiveness – and the utter desperate he felt every time he had to deal with his 'family'.

He was horrified at the treatment Harry had to endure time and time again. The broken arms and legs. The beatings and whipping that were forced on him time and time again.

He saw and felt the despair in a little Harry's mind and soul as he would lay himself down at night and pray to some higher power to please take him away from this hell-on-earth. That maybe some distant family member would take him to a place where he would be loved and not beaten every day. He didn't care who it was, he would even still do all the work around the house – if they would just take him away from this mean man and woman and their cruel son.

Albus was amazed at how Dudley's friends would pick on Harry, and the reaction of the school teachers and headmasters. But then he did remember all the time he had to stop the people from children welfare services from checking up on Harry. At the time he just couldn't figure out those pesky alarms kept going off. He remember never really following up on any of the alarms, just putting it down to sibling rivalry.

Albus was shocked at how much trouble Harry got into at Hogwarts, and how it all affected him. The troll on his first Halloween at the castle; the Philosopher's stone and his overcoming Voldemort at great personal risk; the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny, a young Tom Riddle and a thousand year old basilisk. Each year Harry's – and often others life were put in harms way, and every year it fell to Harry to save them all.

He realized the mental anguish Harry went through each year, and how his lack of action added to that anguish. Every year Harry suffered a tremendous emotional shock, and every year he was sent back to Vernon and Petunia to be tormented and unloved.

As quickly as the experience had started, it was over. He found himself sitting in front of his Judge again, unable to keep the tears from his eyes.

"Am I really responsible for all that pain and suffering?" Albus asked with a shaky voice. "What was I thinking? How could I think that was serving the Greater Good? How could I have been so blind?" He fell to the floor weeping uncontrollable.

"There is a way back Albus, but it will not be easy," the Judge responded. "There is a place prepared where you will be able to reflect upon your actions, and over time, make amends to Tom and Harry. Then, you can return to join your loved ones here."

"But how can I make amend to them while I am here, while they are still on Earth?"

The Judge just smiled, and said, "This will take a very long time Albus. Tom and Harry will be joining us before your time is up. It would have been much easier if you could have corrected this items while you were still in mortality."

"Now go, say goodbye to your parents before we get started. It may be sometime before you see them again."

Fini

AN:

Yep, that's where I'm going to stop this little story. I hope you have enjoyed it, or it has given you something to think about.

Yes I know Dumbledore hurt a lot more people the Tom and Harry that he should have to pay for, if you have other ideas, write a story.

Thanks for your time and support.

rdgale

PS. There is something wrong with my OpenOffice software – the spell check doesn't work AT ALL, so please be kind when you find a misspelled word – or the wrong word (effect / affect, their / they're etc.)


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